


easy pretending we're all right

by CamrynBarnes



Category: The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 09:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13028667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CamrynBarnes/pseuds/CamrynBarnes
Summary: A brief moment in the aftermath, and maybe a friendship in the making.





	easy pretending we're all right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Port](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Port/gifts).



> Hi! I hope this is something along the lines of what you wanted -- I just loved the idea of some of the "secondary" Defender characters getting a chance to hang out when their lives aren't in danger, and I'm a sucker for the ladies of the Netflix series. You said in your letter that you liked the idea of some kind of continuation of the characters and their relationships -- not sure this is quite what you were expecting! I hope you like it.

She just wanted to go home, change into something clean, and take a bath. Forget sleep — that wasn’t going to happen tonight. Not after a building almost came down on her head. Claire looked down at her phone, debating the idea of ordering take out before she was back home.

“Claire!”

She looked up to see Trish Walker rushing down the hospital hallway after her, her heels clacking loudly. Trish looked frazzled, like she’d come straight from the police station without trying to clean herself up. Which was probably what had happened, Claire thought. She and Colleen had barely had time to catch their breath since the explosion, but someone must have called the precinct after that fight. It would have been all over the news, and Trish had been glued to the television in the break room earlier.

“Jessica’s fine,” Claire offered right away, slipping her phone back into her pocket. Better to wait, since she had a feeling she’d be awhile. It was easy to read the concern on Trish’s face, and Jessica was the only one of the group that Trish really knew. “Some stitches and bruises, but she’ll be right back at it in a few days.”

“I know, she called me while she was getting stitched up.” Trish rolled her eyes as she caught up to Claire, exasperated. “I told her she could have waited until she wasn’t swearing at the doctor. Then she used a few combinations I’ve never heard before, asked me if I was okay, and hung up.”

“She was like that when I was stitching her up too. Although all she had at the apartment for a numbing agent was alcohol,” Claire laughed. “I think it’s just part of her…”

“Charm?” Trish offered wryly, shooting her half a smile. She switched her purse to her other arm, pulling her hair out from under her coat and zipping it up. That single movement was enough to turn her from a worried friend to a professional talk show host -- at least on the outside. Claire was quickly learning that Trish was rarely ruffled during a crisis, and that was impressive. “And what about Detective Knight? Jess said it was—”

“She’s conscious. Cracking a few jokes. She is pretty drugged up at the moment, so the humour might go away before too long.” Claire tucked her hands in her pockets, looking down at the floor. She and Colleen had asked Misty to give them time, and as a result of that… well, she couldn’t be responsible for Misty coming along, and the fact that she had saved all of their hides, but. Yeah, there was some guilt there. “She almost lost that same arm last year. Hostage situation at a night club. I used fishing line to stitch her together until we could get her out.”

“Jess said you were good at your job. I think she might have been downplaying just how good, though.” Trish glanced up and down the hallway, noticing the ease with which Claire was guiding them through the hallways. “Is this your hospital?”

“Used to be. There were a few… incidents.” Claire stopped to hold the exit door open for Trish. She met Trish’s gaze and shrugged at her, stepping out onto the street beside the blonde. “Taking time off in the middle of a shift to go patch a vigilante back up isn’t exactly standard operating procedure. Hell, they barely want us to go to the bathroom when we’re on shift. And when helping a vigilante leads to the hospital being attacked by said vigilante’s enemies --- well, you get the picture.”

They walked away from the hospital and further into the city, avoiding the damage from the fight. Trish nodded, considering Claire carefully. “I pissed off a serial killer on live radio once,” she offered, gesturing further down the street. “Let me buy you a coffee. There’s a restaurant just up ahead that I love.”

Claire grinned despite herself, hearing Luke say the same thing in her head. “I’d love some caffeine,” she said gratefully, the chill in the air sneaking in under her coat. “And an excuse to be around someone normal for a bit.”

Trish laughed, raising an eyebrow at Claire. “I’m a former child star, Claire Temple. There’s nothing normal about me.”

“Wow.” Claire looked around, eyeing Trish. “Someone’s got a big head, Trish Walker. Better be careful, or you’re not going to be able to walk into that restaurant you like so much.”

“I like you.” Trish headed into the restaurant, waving to the hostess and heading for an empty table. “We have the run of the place right now, it doesn’t really fill up until the sun comes up,” she told Claire, pulling two menus out from the holder and handing one to her. “Everything here is good, but the omelettes don’t hold together that well. Fair warning.”

“I thought you were just buying me a coffee,” Claire said, flipping through the menu and looking at Trish over the top of it.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve saved Jess’ life at least twice. That’s worth at least a coffee and a meal.” Trish said firmly. “And besides that, you’ve had a very rough night. Don’t argue about breakfast or I’ll have to make you accept it.”

“You’ve twisted my arm.” Claire smiled a little, closing her menu and leaning forward, her curiosity getting the best of her. “So, why did you track me down at the hospital? You could have gone after Jessica.”

“She does better after something like this when she can decompress by herself for a few hours.” Trish looked down at the table, running her fingers in a circle. “The last time you saw her -- the guy she was fighting? She disappeared for almost a week. Scared the crap out of me. Showed up on my doorstep in the middle of the night when she was ready to see another human again.” She shrugged. “I figured the only other normal person in the bunch might know what that well like.”

“I know a little bit about that,” Claire agreed, thinking about Luke and Reva and Seagate. “It’s good when they come back, though. Worth it.” She leaned back when the waitress appeared, taking her coffee and adding cream to it as she placed her order.

“What do you do, Claire?” Trish asked. “I mean, now that you’re not at the hospital. How do you --”

“Make money?” Claire laughed. “I’m covering a nurse’s maternity leave at an elementary school. It’s only a couple of days a week, and the pay is terrible, but it’s what I can do. The hospital -- they gave me a good reference in exchange for me not saying anything about what happened that night, but -- no other hospital is willing to touch me right now. I still stink of scandal.”

“That’s a terrible waste of your talents. If you can handle Jessica, I’d love to see what you could do with a normal patient.”

“You are probably the only person who thinks that,” Claire sipped at her coffee, watching Trish. “The rest of them are just hoping that getting rid of me means no more ninjas at the hospital.”

“Ninjas. Like the Hand. That Jessica and Daredevil and the rest of them were fighting.” Trish paused, her mug halfway to her lips. “You really have been doing this a long time. Jess said they were who Daredevil fought when he appeared.”

“Original nurse for the vigilantes who go bump in the night. Now without the paycheck or the pension.” Claire toasted her. “Too bad I can’t put that on my resume.”

“It is a niche market,” Trish agreed, the corners of her mouth twitching. “You need a billionaire to hire you.” She paused, looking up at Claire. “Wait. I could hire you. I’m not a billionaire, but--”

“Wait, why would you hire me? You don’t need a nurse.”

“I have a personal martial arts trainer. Sometimes I get hurt. And the city sure isn’t going to pay you for taking care of the vigilantes, so unless you have Tony Stark’s number…” Trish trailed off, her eyes bright. “I promise I pay more than the school board. And I won’t fire you if you have to run off in the middle of something.”

“You’ve only known me for two days, Trish.”

“Jessica trusts you. And Luke trusts you. That’s enough for me. Besides, if you run off on me, I know some people who can track you down. Come on, let’s do it. You’ll have way more fun than you are right now.”


End file.
